St. Salvator's Cathedral

The Diocese of Bruges (Latin: Dioecesis Brugensis; Dutch: Bisdom Brugge) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, which covers all of Belgium. A diocese from 1558 to its suppression in 1801, in 1832 it became a pre-diocesan apostolic vicariate as the Apostolic Administration of West Flanders. Its territory coincides with West Flanders. The episcopal see of the diocese is St. Salvator's Cathedral, dedicated to Our Savior, in Bruges, West Flanders, which is also a minor basilica. The patron saint of the diocese is Saint Donatian, so the cathedral is also known as Sint-Salvators- en Donaaskathedraal.

Huis 't Schaep is the name of two 17th century dwellings, which have been converted into one house at Korte Vuldersstraat 14, 8000 Bruges, Belgium. The buildings had a step gable each, but have been remodelled in the Gothic Revival Style during the conversion by Samuel Coucke. It was the house and workshop of the Coucke family, who made stained glass windows. The kilns where the stained glass was fired were situated in an annexe to the main building. Although still existing, this annexe has now become a storage space for a shoe shop and is no longer part of the main building. The former house of the Coucke family still holds three original stained glass windows, as well as painted tiles on a tableau, depicting biblical scenes, which was also made by "Atelier Coucke". The building has been a listed heritage-site since 1992. Now the building is a house as well as a bed and breakfast (chambre d'hôtes).

The Hospital of St. John (Oud Sint-Janshospitaal) was a medieval hospital in Bruges. It was founded in the mid-12th century. Located next to the Church of Our Lady, the premises contain some of Europe's oldest surviving hospital buildings. The hospital grew during the Middle Ages and was a place where sick pilgrims and travellers were cared for. The site was later expanded with the building of a monastery and convent. In the 19th century, further construction led to a hospital with eight wards around a central building. Not until 1977 did the building's function as a hospital stop, at which time it was moved to a newer modern hospital in Brugge Sint-Pieters. The city of Bruges took over the buildings. Today part of the hospital complex holds the popular Hans Memling museum, named for the German-born Early Netherlandish painter, where a number of works, such as triptychs are displayed, as well as hospital records, medical instruments and other works of art.The hospital site is also used as a congress and exhibition centre, the site Oud Sint-Jan.

The Church of Our Lady (Dutch: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) is a Roman Catholic church in Bruges, Belgium, dating mainly from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. Its 115.6-metre-high (379 ft) tower remains the tallest structure in the city and the third tallest brickwork tower in the world (after St. Mary's Church in Lübeck and St. Martin's Church in Landshut, both in Germany). The church demonstrates the Gothic style in the prominent Flying buttresses on the exterior which were constructed in the 1270s and 80s. The nave contains cross-vaults and black and white tiled flooring. The interior demonstrates the heavily ornamented Baroque style in the side aisles and chancel. One of the chapels in the church was created in 1482 for a wealthy man named Lodewijk van Gruuthuse, as his personal worship area.

The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of the Virgin and Child. Michelangelo's depiction of the Madonna and Child differs significantly from earlier representations of the same subject, which tended to feature a pious Virgin smiling down on an infant held in her arms. Instead, Jesus stands upright, almost unsupported, only loosely restrained by Mary's left hand, and appears to be about to step away from his mother. Meanwhile, Mary does not cling to her son or even look at him, but gazes down and away. It is believed the work was originally intended for an altar piece. If this is so, then it would have been displayed facing slightly to the right and looking down. The early 16th-century sculpture also displays the High Renaissance Pyramid style frequently seen in the works of Leonardo da Vinci during the late 1400s. Madonna and Child shares certain similarities with Michelangelo's Pietà, which was completed shortly before – mainly, Mary's flowing robe, and the movement of the drapery. The long, oval face of Mary is also reminiscent of the Pietà. The work is also notable in that it was the first sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. In 1504, it was bought by Giovanni and Alessandro Moscheroni (Mouscron) for 100 ducats. The Mouscron brothers were wealthy cloth merchants in Bruges, then one of the leading commercial cities in Europe. The sculpture was removed twice from Belgium after its initial arrival. The first was in 1794 after French Revolutionaries had conquered the Austrian Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars; the citizens of Bruges were ordered to ship it and several other valuable works of art to Paris. It was returned after Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. The second removal was in 1944, during World War II, with the retreat of German soldiers, who smuggled the sculpture to Germany enveloped in mattresses in a Red Cross truck. It was discovered a year later in Altaussee, Austria within a salt mine and again returned. It now sits in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium. This is represented in the 2014 film The Monuments Men.

The Gruuthusemuseum is a museum of applied arts in Bruges, located in the medieval Gruuthuse, the house of Louis de Gruuthuse. The collection ranges from the 15th to the 19th century.

The Concertgebouw (Concert building) is a cultural centre in Bruges, Belgium. Located at 't Zand, it was completed in 2002 when Bruges was European Capital of Culture, designed by Paul Robbrecht and Hilde Daem. The building complex houses a large concert hall seating more than 1290 visitors on three levels and a chamber music hall seating 320. It features a café and room for exhibitions in the Lantaarntoren (Lantern Tower) which offers a view of the historic town. The building rests on 4,669 poles. The interior is rather sober, and the halls offer excellent acoustics, thanks to advanced technology. The facades are covered with thousands of red terracotta tiles from Saint-Omer in northern France, while the Lantaarntoren is built mainly from glass. Located close to the historic centre, the building has raises divided reactions: some like its contrasting looks, others think it does not match the architecture of the old town.

The Cranenburg House (also Craenenburg) is a historic building located on the Markt (main square) of Bruges, Belgium. The building is now a café with a historicised facade by M. Vermeersch from 1956.George W. T. Omond's Bruges and West Flanders (1906), illustrated by Amédée Forestier, refers to the building: Cranenburg, from the windows of which, in olden times, the Counts of Flanders, with the lords and ladies of their Court, used to watch the tournaments and pageants for which Bruges was celebrated, and in which Maximilian was imprisoned by the burghers in 1488. But the Cranenburg, once the 'most magnificent private residence in the Market-Place,' many years ago lost every trace of its original splendour, and is now an unattractive hostelry, the headquarters of a smoking club; while the Hôtel de Bouchoute, turned into a clothier's shop, has little to distinguish it from its commonplace neighbours.

The Markt (Dutch for "Market") is the central square of Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium. It is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about 1 ha (2.5 acres). Some historical highlights around the Markt include the 12th-century Belfry and the Provincial Court (originally the Waterhall, which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building, which from 1850, served as provincial court, and after a fire in 1878, was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1887). In the centre of the square stands a statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck. The Markt was completely renovated in 1995–96. Parking spaces on the square were removed and the area became mostly traffic-free, thus being more celebration friendly. The renovated square was reopened in 1996 with a concert by Helmut Lotti.

The Belfry of Bruges (Dutch: Belfort van Brugge) is a medieval bell tower in the centre of Bruges, Belgium. One of the city's most prominent symbols, the belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other dangers.

Bruges ( BROOZH, French: [bʁyʒ] ; Dutch: Brugge [ˈbrʏɣə] ; German: Brügge German pronunciation: [ˈbʁʏɡə]) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. It is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 14,099 hectares (140.99 km2; 54.44 sq miles), including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge (from Brugge aan zee, meaning 'Bruges by the Sea'). The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size. The city's total population is 117,073 (1 January 2008), of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 (238 sq mi) and had a total of 255,844 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008.Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Saint Petersburg, it is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North. Bruges has significant economic importance, thanks to its port, and was once one of the world's chief commercial cities. Bruges is a major tourism destination within Belgium and is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, a university institute for European studies.

The Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde (Dutch: Prinselijk Begijnhof Ten Wijngaerde) is the only preserved beguinage in the Belgian city of Bruges. There are no more Beguines living there, but since 1927 it has functioned as a convent for Benedictines, founded by canon Hoornaert. In the same year the houses at the west side were also reshaped and enlarged into the Monasterium De Wijngaard, a priory of Benedictine nuns.